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Watch where you eat. In several major cities, a meals tax on top of the regular sales tax will put a bigger bite on you when you go to restaurants. I'm Doug Whiteman with your Bankrate.com Personal Finance Minute.
The Tax Foundation, a nonprofit educational organization based in Washington, did an analysis to find the cities where taxes do the most gobbling into your dining-out budget. The group found that Minneapolis has the highest combined tax on meals in the United States.
The city's sales tax of nearly 8 percent comes with an extra 3 percent helping of tax for restaurant customers. The sales tax and meals tax add up to a total tax hit of 11 percent. Chicago is a close second, slapping diners with a combined sales tax and meals tax of 10 and three-quarters percent.
Virginia Beach adds a hefty 5.5 percent tax to restaurant tabs. Put that with the 5 percent sales tax and you get a combined tax on meals to 10.5 percent. That's the third highest in the country. Seattle and Washington, DC are tied for fourth, with meals taxes and sales taxes adding up to a 10 percent tally when you go out for a meal. Omaha, Nebraska, is 5th, with a 9 and a-half percent.
For more on taxes that eat into your dining out dollars, visit Bankrate.com. I'm Doug Whiteman.